Earlier this year, The Economist did a nice write-up on a topic we discussed in depth back in 2011 in a post called “How much money does it take to be in the top 1% in the United States?“. Although the most recent data available is from 2008, applying a modest inflation factor, it seems…
The most recent statistics on household income, net worth, and unemployment, sorted by education level, are really interesting. Following our discussion about the splits that have emerged along geographic fault lines in the electoral body, I thought it would be important to highlight the economic differences and how enormous the income inequality is for the…
Whether or not a person is capable of waiting for rewards, and thus succeeding in things that require long-term planning such as investing, money management, completing higher education, and sticking with difficult projects for the promise of richer payouts, may not be due to willpower alone. In a new study, researchers Celeste Kidd, Holly Palmeri,…
If you are a school teacher, a firefighter, a police officer, a municipality worker, or another type of government worker, the chances are high that over the next decade or two, your benefits are going to be slashed. The reason is simple. There are only two ways to maintain the retirement pensions and other benefits…
I’ve spent a big part of today doing investment research on synthetic gemstones vs natural gemstones. Following the recent reading foray into the world of jewelry retailing, distributing, and mining, I kept coming across a company called Chatham. They had reportedly perfected the art of manufacturing gemstones such as rubies and sapphires inside of a…
Following the 25-year case study of Tiffany & Company, I have been thinking a lot about diamonds. From the economic pricing model to the cartel that controls diamond prices, not a day has gone by since that post when I have not studied gemstones, or the jewelry business, in some capacity, often for several hours at…
Now that the desserts, chocolate covered strawberries, and spa water are done, my sisters have arrived and the Italian food is being made. My niece asked me to go outside with her and play with sidewalk chalk so I braved the 90+ degree heat and we broke out the giant box I keep at the…
Interesting fact: Do you want a financial “A” in life? To achieve it, and rank in the top 5% of households (making you richer than 95 out of 100 families), you and your spouse need a combined pre-tax income of $205,300 and a net worth of $1,864,100. [mainbodyad]That is according to the triennial Survey of Consumer Finance, which was…
This weekend, I traveled several hundred miles to visit one of my grandmothers, who hosted a family dinner. On the drive, we went through some extremely poor communities; places where a family of four or five might live in a $22,000 house. This caused me to think about poverty for the past couple of days.…
As we approach my 30th birthday, I thought about taking a look at what has happened to the economy of the United States in the three decades I’ve been alive to gain a sense of perspective about where we have been. This is the time period during which I went from childhood to adulthood, and…
